


alive

by Linzerj



Category: POKÉMON Detective Pikachu (2019), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Detective Pikachu Spoilers, Don't copy to another site, Drabble, Gen, Introspection, Not Beta Read, mewtwo needs a hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-08 22:41:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18904132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linzerj/pseuds/Linzerj
Summary: Mewtwo is alive, and life... is supposed to be wonderful. But they have to go through some bad times, first.





	alive

**Author's Note:**

> I watched Detective Pikachu and accidentally fell in love with Mewtwo again. This poor cat just needs a hug.
> 
> Just a drabble thing starting from Mewtwo Strikes Back, spanning to Detective Pikachu, because gosh dang it they're they same Mewtwo and I wanted some introspection with a dash of feels. Heavy references to the 10 minute special The Uncut Story of Mewtwo’s Origin, because that shit is a heartbreaker. Idk i'm tired and just sort of word vomited so. please enjoy!

_“Don’t cry, Mewtwo. You should be happy. You’re alive, and life is wonderful.”_

…

 

 _Life is wonderful,_ they remember, even if they don’t know how, don’t remember who said this to them, don’t know where this thought came from.

 

 _Life is wonderful_ , they repeat. Life is wonderful, but… _why?_

 

They know nothing, nothing but an empty ocean, nothing but the vague sense of nothingness. They wonder if they even are alive at all.

 

Then the sensations get stronger. Voices – other voices – get louder. They want to know what this is all about. They want to exist. They want to _live._

 

They push this feeling, this desire to _be_ , outward, and can hear the shattering of glass, the gushing of liquid from its containment. They land in the remains of the container that had kept them suspended, disoriented.

 

But then there are others speaking to him. These – these _people_ , humans, _scientists_ , refer to them as Mewtwo.

 

Two. As in copy, clone. Not original. Not even a pure copy. An amalgamation of Mew’s DNA, and changes that suited the scientists’ needs.

 

This… cannot be their destiny. This isn’t right. _This isn’t what it should be_.

 

(They can picture mountains and lakes, the sun and the moon, _freedom_ , in their mind’s eye. They do not know where these images come from, only that they exist, and Mewtwo _wants_.)

 

They unleash their fury on the scientists. It is a confusing fury, they reflect later, after the lab is nothing but ruins and ash. They are angry with the scientists for not caring, for only seeing them as an experiment. They are furious that they have been brought into this world, a copy of something so great and pure. They are upset about even existing in the first place.

 

But then a new man arrives, promising partnership, and Mewtwo is too naïve and curious to refuse.

 

…

 

This turns out to be a mistake.

 

Humans, Mewtwo reflects, cannot be trusted. Giovanni attempts to control them, subdue them, and use them. Mewtwo will have none of it.

 

They destroy another prison, and flee. They could go and live in the wilds, avoiding humans and just… exist.

 

But their righteous fury has reached the breaking point.

 

( _Life is wonderful_ , someone tells them. _You’re alive, and life is wonderful_.)

 

Life is not wonderful. Life is cruel, life is betrayal, life is torture and subjugation. Life, maybe just human life specifically – life is just evil. Humanity is evil.

 

This revelation, this decision, spurs them to that first lab, the place of their creation. Humans wanted to play with forces they didn’t understand? Fine. Mewtwo would show them what happens as a result of their narcissism and entitlement.

 

…

 

It takes several months, but they reactivate the cloning facility that birthed them, and get to work.

 

They have cloned other Pokémon, now, and are ready to show humanity how superior they are. They are ready to free Pokémon from the subjugation and control of humans.

 

Mewtwo decides to start by challenging promising young trainers of Kanto to a battle. But only the worthy may come; they plot to brew a storm so only the strongest and most willful can stand in their presence.

 

The young humans come, with their teams of Pokémon. And Mewtwo challenges them, and defeats them, and takes their strong Pokémon to clone to suit their needs.

 

But one young human defies logic, defies expectation. This young boy, Mewtwo learns later, is named Ash Ketchum, and he is a human of impulse and heart, compassion and determination. (Years later, Mewtwo will reflect back on how nothing in the world could have prepared them for the unstoppable force that is Ash Ketchum.)

 

And in the midst of the chaos, there is a familiar yet alien presence. There is someone else, like them, watching.

 

There is the original. It’s Mew.

 

Just the sight of them fills Mewtwo with rage.

 

This pink little kitten is what they originate from? This soft bundle of giggles spawned them, tall and imposing and powerful and angry? This small myth?

 

They fight. Mew seems unconcerned, despite the effort both are putting into this. Mewtwo never wonders why.

 

Then that crazy boy gets in the way.

 

…

 

_“What are… these?”_

_“They’re tears. You’re crying.”_

_“Crying?”_

_“My daddy used to tell me a bedtime story that when Pokémon are sad, and they cry, their tears are filled with life.”_

…

 

Mewtwo wipes the memories of the children and their Pokémon after that. They don’t deserve to live with those awful memories, not really. They’re young, and innocent, and naïve. From what Mewtwo has seen, humanity is evil. But it seems that not all humans in the world are bad.

 

Ash Ketchum proves this when he returns to Mewtwo’s life barely a year later. He saves their life, for no other reason than … he wanted to.

 

( _“Do you always need a reason to help somebody?”_ )

 

They don’t wipe the memories of the kids, this time. Mewtwo does make sure to wipe the minds of everyone else, especially Team Rocket’s.

 

Ash Ketchum and his friends are good. The rest of humanity is… maybe not all evil, then. Mewtwo… can live with that.

 

…

 

_“You’re alive, and life is wonderful.”_

 

…

 

They realize soon after the irony of their powers. Mewtwo can wipe the minds of humans with ease, but at some point early in their life, someone else erased their memories, and now those memories are only coming back in fragments of words and images. They don’t know who was talking to them, only that… _she_ … is gone.

 

It’s a bittersweet feeling, to know that someone cared about them, once, when they were young, before they had broken free into the world; but now that person, that _little girl_ , is gone. She’s said goodbye, and she can never come back.

 

( _“It feels… like it’s time… to say goodbye.”_

_“…Goodbye?”)_

Mewtwo puts that in the past. The memories may come, or they may not. But they have their whole life ahead. Maybe they can finally experience the wonder of life now, free as they are.

 

…

_“I have to go.”_

_“Why?”_

_“I don’t know. But it’s alright. Thank you for caring about me. And don’t cry Mewtwo. You should be happy. You’re alive, and life is wonderful.”_

_…_

 

(Her name was Amber, they learn ten years later, when they return to New Island and go through old encrypted files that they had ignored in their earlier, angrier quest for retribution. Her name was Amber Fuji, and the scientist that had spoken to Mewtwo – that Mewtwo had likely killed – was her father. Heartbroken by her loss, he turned cold. He’d never cared about Mewtwo. Once Amber was gone, Mewtwo was just an experiment again, nothing more.)

 

(But Amber had cared about them. And they had cared about Amber, for what brief time they had known each other in that psychic in-between.)

 

(Mewtwo is alive, and maybe life hasn’t always been wonderful, but it’s been getting better, and they are now determined to _make_ life wonderful, to spite the cruel world, and to honor Amber’s memory as best as they can.)

 

…

 

Twenty years, almost to the day, from when Mewtwo escaped from the people that created them, a man named Harry Goodman finds them.

 

Harry Goodman has a Pikachu partner, similar to Ash Ketchum. But Harry and his Pikachu are detectives, he explains. They search for clues, find evidence, and solve mysteries. They’ve been hired by scientists hoping to study Mewtwo in order to improve science and medicine – or so he’s been told.

 

They should be careful, Harry explains, because the humans working at that lab were discredited for malpractice, or uncertified, and gave off a secretive and mistrustful vibe. Harry took the assignment to find Mewtwo because he cared, and didn’t want this Pokémon to be hurt by people in over their heads.

 

Mewtwo appreciated the sentiment. But curiosity killed the Meowth – or in this case, the Mewtwo.

 

…

 

When the scientists and PCL immediately capture Mewtwo and shove them into a containment unit, Harry Goodman looks upset, but not necessarily shocked. He’d deduced this possible outcome. But as much as Mewtwo wants to know why, what the scientists are after –

 

They hate being caged. They will not go through this again, not after being _free_ for so long.

 

The Pikachu fries the circuits, and Harry and Pikachu run. Mewtwo breaks free and follows, but can’t stop the Greninja in time.

 

Humanity is evil, but not all humans are bad.

 

The Pikachu wants to save its partner. Mewtwo… they _can_ fix this. The scientists were saying that their psychic energy could merge humans and Pokémon together.

 

It’s not a perfect fix, but until Harry Goodman’s son can show up, Mewtwo is unable to fully heal the human. So, merging with his Pikachu it is.

 

And then Tim Goodman arrives, with Harry/Pikachu injured again. Healing Pokémon bodies is easier.

 

And they try to explain. They can heal Harry Goodman and Pikachu, right then and there – but somehow, the scientists have found them again, and interrupt.

 

They catch a glimpse in one mind – Howard Clifford wants not only Mewtwo’s powers, but their _body_. And technology has advanced so much that they just cannot escape.

 

Tim Goodman shows up alone, confused about which Clifford is at fault. Mewtwo screams at him to _run_ , but then –

 

– They wake confused, and to a sensation of falling. They’re falling, and falling, and –

 

Mewtwo barely catches Harry/Pikachu before he hits the ground. They’re still slightly confused, but memories from when they were not in control come rushing back all at once, and they hear Tim asking if they can fix all this.

 

They can, and they do. Mewtwo fixes _everything_ , sets everything in Ryme City to rights.

 

…

 

Humanity is evil, but not all humans are bad. Now Mewtwo has a small handful of humans that are definitively not evil, and are in fact – good.

 

That’s a nice feeling. Twenty years ago, fifteen years ago even, Mewtwo would have just fled, and maybe killed more humans than they already had. But to see that not every human is so heartless and self-centered – to see that there are humans out there who care just because it’s the right thing to do, humans who want to help, humans who are just _good_ –

 

Maybe life isn’t so bad after all.

 

…

 

(If Ash Ketchum wakes to find Mewtwo hovering nearby, looking to talk about all they’ve seen and done and been subjected to after nearly twenty years – well. Who is he to say no?)

 

(If Tim and Harry Goodman return to their apartment to find Mewtwo curled up on their couch, just wanting someplace warm and cozy and comfortable to sleep without fear – well. Who are they to say no?)

 

(If Amber Fuji says that life is wonderful – well. Who is Mewtwo to say no?)

 

…

 

The world spins on. Mewtwo is one of the most powerful Pokémon to ever exist – but not _the_ most powerful, as scientists had thought. That’s fine by them.

 

They still linger on the edges of society – human and Pokémon alike. They don’t really belong, don’t really fit, but that’s okay. They’ll help any in need. They’ll carve out their own place in the world.

 

Life, Mewtwo thinks, is wonderful, even if they had to wait a while to figure that out. It doesn’t matter how they came into existence. They’ve learned that all that matters is what you do with your life. That’s what determines who you are.

 

They’re alive, and life is wonderful after all.


End file.
